Affairs of the Heart and of a Smattering of Additional Issues
A few observations from checkout lines, check-in lines and points in between:
Heart bypass: Food companies, under government pressure to clean up product labels, are losing their “hearts.”
GFA Brands’ Heart Beat imitation cheese has become Smart Beat. Canbra Foods’ Heartlight vegetable oil is now Canola Harvest. Kellogg’s Heartwise cereal is now called Fiberwise. And Clorox Co.’s Take Heart salad dressing is soon to become Hidden Valley Ranch Low Fat.
These products are getting new identities because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has outlawed the use of the word heart on most food labels, especially for products heavy on fats and oils. The agency said it was concerned that consumers might believe that products with the word on the label prevent heart disease.
The food companies don’t agree with the FDA, but went along with the agency to keep it from taking actions that could lead to seizure of their products. Lethbridge, Canada-based Canbra Foods wasn’t trying to suggest that its Heartlight oil was for “heavy consumption,” argued President Lawrence McNamara.
“We were trying to say, ‘If you are going to use fat, use this fat,’ ” he said.
Of repairs and reparations: Times reader Ricardo Sanchez says he got a shock when he priced auto services at five different Pep Boys outlets in Los Angeles. Price quotes for two outer tie rods for his 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo ranged between $30 and $50. Quotes for installation varied from $40 to $89.
Sanchez said he conducted his survey after he paid a hefty $83.79 to have the tie rods installed in his car. Pep Boys refunded $30 when he presented them with his list of price quotes. Sanchez isn’t satisfied, however.
“It troubles me that their prices are so inconsistent. . . . I would hate to see other customers blindly ripped off,” wrote Sanchez, noting that his survey was prompted by charges that Sears, Roebuck & Co. sold automotive customers in California unneeded repairs.
Pep Boys President and Chief Executive Mitchell G. Leibovitz said Sanchez is right to expect consistent price quotes at Pep Boys outlets. Leibovitz said employees may have erred because they weren’t familiar with Sanchez’s car. “I would say it is an error of intelligence rather than integrity,” he said.
Travel gets more taxing: Those frequent-flier freebies may not be free anymore--at least in 14 cities that are imposing a $3 ticket tax.
Proceeds from the tax, which went into effect the last few weeks, go toward airport improvements. No California cities have imposed a ticket tax yet, although Los Angeles International Airport officials are considering it.
Airlines with hubs in Minneapolis, Denver, Las Vegas and other cities imposing the tax are angry because the tax boosts fares for flights connecting to those cities. For example, Northwest Airlines contends that the tax in Minneapolis gives rival American Airlines an advantage because many American flights connect in Chicago or Dallas, where there is no ticket tax.
The tax also makes some frequent-flier freebies less attractive. But sit tight, relief may be on the way. It seems that Rep. Jim Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat who is a frequent flier, has introduced a bill to exempt frequent-flier tickets from it.
Express aid . . . for whom?: The devastation of the Los Angeles riots continues to spawn questionable fund-raisers. Police in Beverly Hills report that residents are receiving mailings from an unregistered outfit called Express Aid that claims to help riot victims.
Lt. Jim Smith reports that police have been unable to contact the promoters, who are using a Beverly Hills postal drop, and have referred the case to the U.S. Postal Service. Smith says police don’t know where donations are going.
When The Times called Express Aid, a reporter got a recording saying, “All our operators are busy taking pledges.” A message left on the answering machine wasn’t returned.
Though Express Aid claims contributions are tax deductible, the Internal Revenue Service says that may not be true. Express Aid isn’t registered as a tax-exempt charity with the IRS, although it has 15 months to do so.
IRS spokesman Michael Shuler offers this advice: “If you want to make sure you can deduct it, stick with an established charity.”
Briefly . . . No recession blues: Kmart reports that environmental concerns make green the most important color for 1992. Just a coincidence that green is the color of money. . . . Job switch: Thomas Papageorge has quit his job as regional head of the Federal Trade Commission to run the consumer protection unit in the Los Angeles district attorney’s office. . . . Gone but not forgotten: The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is continuing to press its false advertising case against the Connecticut liquidator who ran RB Furniture’s now-ended bankruptcy sale.
They Have No Heart Here are some products that have changed their names due to pressure from the FDA. Old Name / New Name Heart Beat imitation cheese: Smart Beat Heartlight vegetable oil: Canola Harvest Heartwise cereal: Fiberwise Take Heart salad dressing : Hidden Valley Ranch Low Fat
